1. New WISCAT is coming
2. New BadgerLink Page
3. September is National Preparedness Month
4. Website of the Week -- The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's
5. Calendar
1. New WISCAT is coming
The Department of Public Instruction has notified Auto-Graphics, Inc. of its intent to negotiate the award of a contract for the Wisconsin Resource Sharing and Information Access project. The Department plans to negotiate for a hybrid union/virtual catalog containing Wisconsin library holdings and an interlibrary loan management system. This new system will replace the existing WISCAT union catalog, ZPORTAL virtual catalog, and VDX interlibrary loan management system that the state has been using since 2002.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) process for this next generation Wisconsin Resource Sharing and Information Access system was completed earlier this month. Four vendors responded to the RFP: Auto-Graphics, OCLC/Fretwell, SirsiDynix, and WebFeat. Auto-Graphics was selected as having the product that best fits our needs. The vendor negotiation process will likely take into September 2006. In the meantime, WISCAT staff is already working on implementation and training plans. While the details have not all been settled, the current plan is to have moved to the new system and discontinue
use of the current VDX and ZPORTAL systems on or before January 1, 2007.
The new resource sharing system will allow library staffs and patrons to enjoy a number of exciting new features. To see a more detailed list of features available with the new system, go to: (http://www.wiscat.lib.wi.us/pdf/New_features.pdf).
Unlike the current system, the new product will use a single integrated user interface for the hybrid union/virtual catalog as well as for the interlibrary loan management system. Search results can be deduplicated and resorted so that records from multiple catalogs are displayed together. In addition the seamless search interface between the union and virtual catalogs is expected to reduce the need to batch upload records to the union catalog for those local catalogs that are Z39.50 compliant.
The new product is extremely customizable. It allows customization and "branding" down to the regional or local library level. Each library or region can easily create its own customized splash page for the catalog if they wish.
While the look and feel of the WISCAT search environment (including creation of interlibrary loan requests), will remain much the same as the current product with which most users are familiar, the look and feel of the new interlibrary loan management system will change quite a bit for the better. Interlibrary loan screens and terminology are much simpler in the new system.
The product can be configured so that it will require library users to borrow from their own library or region prior to requesting materials from other libraries outside their region and will display an alert to the patron if a requested item is locally owned. A long sought after feature in the new system allows it to check the shelf status of a potential lender's Z39.50 catalog prior to sending a request to that lender, and then skip the location if the item is checked out or otherwise not available; it can also check the policy statement of a potential lender prior to sending a request, and can skip the location if their policy indicates that the library does not lend the type of media requested (e.g. does not lend DVDs).
The product facilitates many of the ILL clearinghouse functions that have traditionally been handled by some Wisconsin public library systems. In addition, it allows us to continue email functions we had previously instituted, in an effort to be as inclusive of as many small libraries as possible in the resource sharing system, such as email alerts to low volume responding libraries; email notifications to a library's patron; and automatically sending requests via email protocol to libraries that do not use the system directly.
The department has had a very good experience and relationship with the Auto-Graphics company over the past few years, and we look forward to continuing that relationship.
2. NEW BADGERLINK HOME PAGE
Reference and Loan Library staff has redesigned the BadgerLink home page. The new page was released in late August, 2006. James Leaver, BadgerLink coordinator, was the primary designer.
The purpose of the BadgerLink home page is:
* To provide a web site that brings together all information about BadgerLink access, promotion, training and resources.
* To provide a point of access for Wisconsin residents and library staff who do not have easy to use or complete alternative access through their local library or library system.
* To provide a web site that provides value added access to state contracted commercial vendor sites as well as government, library, digital, and other specialized Wisconsin resources.
The redesigned page makes it easier to access specialized resources within various vendor sites and across vendor sites. NewspaperArchive Elite has been added with its own logo and is no longer associated with EBSCO. Besides being presented by vendor name, full text resources are broken out by subject areas: Health and medical, business and corporate, and newspapers. Resources are also highlighted by audience: Kids, middle school students, and teachers and librarians.
In addition, new resources have been added to the general resource section of the web page. The Reference and Loan Library has for many years developed an in-house index to songbooks owned by the library. This has been redesigned so that it can be put on the web and is made available on the BadgerLink homepage. Other new resources include OCLC's new public version of WorldCat, Reference and Loan Library's list of digital library collections, and the Wisconsin Heritage Online (WHO) website.
Those users that do not have access to Ask?Away through a local library may use the BadgerLink page to gain access.
Please visit the new home page at http://www.badgerlink.net.
3. SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH
September is National Preparedness Month, a nationwide effort to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and schools.
The ALA Washington Office urges libraries to participate in efforts to make sure their communities are prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster. The latest surveys show that 83% of Americans are unprepared to help themselves in a disaster, while the National Heritage Health Index discovered that 70% of libraries did not have a disaster plan.
The ALA Washington Office recommends that libraries work during September to prepare their institutions for the types of disasters which might befall them and help their communities prepare as well.
In the spirit of National Preparedness Month, the ALA Washington Office has put together a list of resources at its Disaster Preparedness webpage, http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/disasterpreparedness/distrprep.htm to help you make sure you're prepared, including dPlan: The Online Disaster Planning Tool (http://www.dplan.org/). dPlan is a free online tool that will help you simplify the process of writing a disaster plan. Enter information about your institution using the comprehensive fill-in-the-blank template. This template will guide you through the steps necessary for effective disaster planning.
Once completed, dPlan generates a printed disaster plan specific to your institution. The resulting plan contains contact information for staff and key personnel, preventive maintenance checklists, salvage techniques, and much more. dPlan can be updated continuously to reflect the changes that occur at your institution.
4. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's -- http://www.pbs.org/theforgetting/ -- Unless you are directly affected by the disease, it's difficult to understand the tragic and frustrating pathology of Alzheimer's. Yet as it promises to affect half of all seniors over 85, it's crucial to discern early-onset symptoms, such as forgetfulness and disorientation, from the normal behavior and mood swings of the elderly. Created by PBS, this unique "Living Center" hopes to clear up the cobwebs of misinformation and offer hands-on tools for patients, families, and their caregivers.
5. CALENDAR
September 5, 2006 - LSTA Advisory Committee meeting, Madison
September 8, 2006 - Council on Library and Network Development, Kenosha
September 12, 2006 - Public Library System Directors annual meeting, Madison
September 22, 2006 - Fall interlibrary loan meeting for system and resource library staff, Madison
September 26, 2006 - System Continuing Education/Certification Consultants annual meeting, Madison
September 29, 2006 - Delivery Services Advisory Committee, via video-conference at various sites
September 30, 2006 - National Book Festival, Washington D.C.
October 5, 2006 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Oconomowoc
October 6, 2006 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Neenah
October 12, 2006 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Wisconsin Dells
October 13, 2006 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Rice Lake
October 13, 2006 - Public Library System Youth Liaisons annual meeting, Madison
October 18-22, 2006 - Wisconsin Book Festival
October 25, 2006 - Annual fall reference meeting for system and resource library staff, Oshkosh
October 31-November 3, 2006 - Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells
November 10, 2006 - Council on Library and Network Development, location TBA
November 29-30, 2006 - LSTA Advisory Committee meeting and public hearing, Madison
January 12, 2007 - Council on Library and Network Development, location TBA
January 23, 2007 - Wisconsin Library Legislative Day, Madison
March 25-27, 2007 - Wisconsin Educational Media Association Spring Conference, Madison
For more details about these and other meetings, see the WISDOM calendar at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/wisdom.html and the BadgerLink and WISCAT training site at http://www.wiscat.lib.wi.us/training.html.
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For information about Channel Weekly or to submit article ideas, please contact:
Roslyn Wise, Editor, at (608) 266-6439
For questions about this information, contact Roslyn M. Wise (608) 266-6439
Last updated on 9/5/2006 12:01:56 PM
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